There are no stronger voices than alumni’s testimonials about how they have found their place in the world. The 6th annual “Life AFTER TUJ 2016” event was held at The Parliament Student Lounge, and more than 80 students gathered to hear what their future selves had to say. It was organized by William Swinton, director of International Business Studies, and the Career Development Office.
Five speakers from a variety of backgrounds shared advice based on their experiences. “If you ask me when to start preparing for job hunting, I would say ‘from day one’ at school,” said Earl Richard Jay (International Business Studies, 2015), former U.S. Marine and now an IT specialist at a multinational consulting firm. Yoko Sato (Psychological Studies, 2006), now a business owner, encouraged students to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible by saying “if you don’t know, do something. Experiences added up to be where I am now.” Jessica Shacklett (Asian Studies, 2011) who first took a job as an English teacher, currently works as an art director at a Japanese pharmaceutical company after changing jobs several times. “Every job helped me find out what I like and what I’m good at. Teaching English taught me more Japanese, as kids laugh at you if you don’t understand what they say. It takes time, but the more mistakes you make, the more you learn,” she said.
When a student asked how TUJ had been perceived during their job hunting process, Aya Yamada (Business Management, 2010) , who works at an American IT giant, said, “if they (company recruiters) don’t know TUJ, take that as an opportunity to make your interview worth. Try to sell TUJ. Talk about good points and focus on strengths you learned at TUJ.” Mina Takahashi (Communication Studies, 2002), communication manager at a public policy advisory firm, added, “Tell them how good you are. If you are the first TUJ graduate to join that company, you are an evangelist for TUJ.”